


swing for the fences (i'll run to the line)

by futurecadaver



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Autistic Spencer Reid, Coming Out, Developing Friendships, Eventual Relationships, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Lesbian Emily Prentiss, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Underage Drinking, brief use of ableist language, mild homophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:07:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24567430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/futurecadaver/pseuds/futurecadaver
Summary: “You live at the end of the street, Penelope. I’m your only next door neighbor.”“Correction, Mr. and Mrs. Jareau live in that house too. And if you keep it up, your dad will outrank you as favorite by the end of the day.”Or, the high school au no one asked for
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Haley Hotchner, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss, Penelope Garcia/Derek Morgan
Comments: 9
Kudos: 121





	1. Penelope

**Author's Note:**

> hello! after numerous hours watching criminal minds with my girlfriend these past few weeks, this was born. she helped me with a lot of details and i rlly appreciate her. 
> 
> enjoy!

Penelope somehow knew everything; the fly on the wall no one bothered to shoo away. Between two years of hair glitter, loud patterns, and compulsive baking, no one blinks twice at her presence. She finds herself in whatever circle she’s in and sits comfortably, always has. First day of junior year should really be no different. 

The room was only half-full, and as far as she could tell, she was the only girl that’d been placed in AP Computer Science. She made a note to talk to her counselor about a starting women in STEM campaign on campus, before taking a seat along the back wall.

It was a rather difficult, dual credit class, likely to be filled with an assortment of upperclassmen--and despite her technically being an upperclassman, the lack of womanly presence didn’t sit well with her. It was harder to see the board from the back, but sight be damned, she felt more secure in her testosterone-less corner.

Lost on her mission, scouring through her bag to find the right pen--because there _wa_ _s_ a right pen, a green, glitter gel pen that had a smudge guard for her cursed left hand--she felt the meek presence next to her.

“Excuse me, would you mind if I took my seat next to yours?”

Penelope felt her eyes shifting from the granola bars buried at the bottom of her bag to the owner of the equally meek sounding voice. Giving him a once over, she took in a variety of his features. Gangly limbs, fidgeting hands, boyish face paired with hair grown out just long enough to curl under his ears. What was this kid, 12?

“Uh, you do realize this is AP Computer Science, right?” she started, “the class for freshman is down the hall.”

“I’m aware of what class I’m in, I just wanted to know if I could sit here,” he replied, his face scrunched with the slightest bit of puzzlement. He moved his hand quickly to the hem of his sweater, toying with the fabric methodically, as if it were a systematic response. The sweater he was wearing in August, she noted.

“Sure you can,” she offered, “sorry if I offended you, first day back and I’m forgetting my manners like I’m in Mulholland Drive.

Penelope Garcia, or Penny, or Oracle of all things knowable around here. And you are?” she asked, offering her hand to shake.

The boy blinked, eyeing her hand warily before pulling at his sweater again, “I, uh, I don’t really know what that last part meant, sorry. But I’m Spencer. Spencer Reid.”

“Oh, don’t be sorry, kid. Mulholland Drive is just a movie,” she laughed, gently reassuring him, “but one of the leads, Rita, has amnesia after a car accident, it’s a great watch if you ever have tim-”

The bell rang out interrupting before she could finish, but she figured he wasn’t much for movies anyway. Something so peculiar about this boy. This young boy sitting next to her in an AP class she worked her ass off to get placed in. Nevertheless, he smiled softly at her before finally removing his messenger bag and taking his seat. 

The teacher went through his introduction and syllabus fairly quickly before leaving them to independently work. The room soon grew quiet and all Penelope heard was the scratching sounds of pencils on paper, filling out questions on the board--a help me get to know you questionnaire, no doubt. The first day back was always the same, sophomore, junior, it didn’t matter.

There were only a few minutes left in the period when she noticed the boy--Spencer, was it?--had slipped a small paper into her stack. Well, color her intrigued. She gnawed at the skin around her nails before gazing to him. He paid her no attention as she unraveled the paper.

_Transient global amnesia is often associated with retrograde amnesia and has an incidence of 5 per 100,000 population per year._

Huh, that sure is something, she thought. Penelope would make a friend out of him yet.

* * *

JJ came jogging up to their table and plopped down beside Penelope. “Okay, I did some digging on my free period like you asked, right? And your guy from comp-sci is a sophomore but he’s smart, like crazy smart. Apparently, he’s this prodigy kid from Vegas.”

Penelope wasn’t shocked to hear it. There weren’t too many juniors in that class, so to be a sophomore and keep up, you’d have to be smart. Penelope kept the tidbit about the note he exchanged to herself and feigned some shock in her response.

“Wow, okay. So, what’s a wickedly brilliant mind from another state doing in my first period?”

JJ laughed, settling into her seat at the table and uncapping her bottle of water. “The girls from yearbook said he moved over the summer to be close to some autism foundation in Quantico but he doesn’t have a whole bunch of friends so please be nice to him, PG.”

“Oh yes, because I’m a known bully against kids on the spectrum.” she offered back sarcastically. JJ rolled her eyes. “Seriously though, I don’t want you making him feel like he doesn’t belong. We have enough assholes at this school who probably have already.”

Penelope turned her nose up at the thought. He was just a kid, albeit a little strange but he was harmless, even _asked_ before sitting down beside her. She tried to will the images of dumb jocks picking on him from her brain but she could still feel the worry building in her chest.

“Well, you have my word,” she promised, giving a mock scout salute. “but enough about my morning, how’s my favorite next door neighbor’s first day back so far?”

JJ’s eyes lit up at the question and Penelope felt her worries ease a bit. Making Jayje laugh always helped. “You live at the end of the street, Penelope. I’m your only next door neighbor.” she replied, laughing again.

“Correction, Mr. and Mrs. Jareau live in that house too. And if you keep it up, your dad will outrank you as favorite by the end of the day.” She took a bite of her sandwich.

JJ lightly hit her arm, eliciting another giggle from her, but not without consequence.

“Hey, hey, hey. Don’t go smacking my girl around like that,” Derek’s voice rang out as he approached them at their table.

“Ah, at last my knight in shining work out clothes is here to rescue me,” Penelope smiled. It was true, Derek just finished his weights class before lunch and hadn’t changed yet. He said something about changing on lunch so he could wait for the locker room to clear out his freshman year and the routine stuck ever since.

He straddled the lunch bench behind Penelope before leaning forward and smirking, “Unless of course she earned it.”

“Hey now, I won’t tolerate any slander.”

JJ quirked an eyebrow at his comment, chiming in too, “Especially coming from someone dripping with that much sweat.”

Derek tucked his forehead into the crook of Penelope’s shoulder as if on cue, “Trust me when I say she didn’t mind this sweaty body all summer.”

She set her sandwich down, shuddering at the unwelcome sweat now drenching her shirt. “Okay, sugar, just because I didn’t mind marveling at your exquisite form all of July does not mean I want it on me now.”

“But babygirl, I was just getting started,” he laughed, rolling more of his sweat onto her.

“Gross,” JJ commented, while Penelope tried to wrangle him off of her. The two of them shared a laugh while Penelope cried out in disgust.

“Derek Morgan, if you ever want to hear these lips speak at you in French again, you will get off of me.”

Holding his hands up in surrender, he laughed. “You got me, mama.” She let out another laugh because of course that’s the threat that gets Derek to stop.

“Well I guess it was fate then, because I gotta get in line but you better not stop talking your par le vou at me, dollface.”

“Mm, wouldn’t dream of it.”

JJ continued on talking after he left but Penelope tuned her out, lost in thought. She found herself tracing the ring on the opening of her orange juice bottle with her pinkie, overcome with content. Man, she missed this.


	2. Derek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some pining Morcia + introduction to a new character

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaAAAAA!!! thank u guys for all the love on this! can you believe it's been almost 3 months since i posted chapter one of this bad boy? in honor of 69 (hah, nice) kudos, i'm *finally* posting the second chapter!

Derek was smarter than he looked; between his height and athleticism, it might have been hard to tell. But he wasn’t bothered, he loved his mama, he loved teasing his sisters, and he loved passing his grade checks and playing ball. He wore his letterman jacket with pride, even if that’s all people saw.

Two weeks into the school year and he started to find his rhythm. Even if Mr. Gideon was determined to ruin it for him. What 50 year old man is _that_ nit picky? The guy seriously needed to pull the stick out of his ass. As he ran through a string of curse words about the teacher in his head, he concluded the only remotely good part of that class was that Elle was in it.

Settled into his desk in his last period--calculus--he rolled his eyes, as the thoughts of Gideon and his class plagued his mind. He glanced over to the clock, as if willing time to move faster. Only twenty more minutes.

Nevertheless, he distracted himself with the practice equations, tapping his pencil on the desk to help him feel productive. He’d get through the day that was droning on, he always did. But every time he looked at the clock, he swore it was stuck in a thick molasses--trapping the hands in the same place, holding the minutes hostage--and that time was failing to move forward.

He didn’t have practice today, at least. He usually spent Thursdays walking Penelope to and from school with the extra time. Despite having offered to drive her countless times since getting his license, she still chose to walk. But he didn’t mind. That was their weekly ritual while he was in sports, and during the off seasons, they’d spend their weekends together almost religiously. 

He started drifting off at the thought of seeing his best friend, because of course he was anticipating whatever exciting thing she had to tell him today, she always had something exciting to share. That’s just how Penelope was, carrying a neon-colored love and excitement with her everywhere, sharing it with everyone. That’s part of why he was her friend.

Derek found himself lost down a rabbithole of thoughts before bringing himself back to what he was doing. And as he did, he felt a sense of freedom wash over him at the sound of the bell ringing.

* * *

His eyes scanned the crowd of people coming out of the 200 building before locking onto her--because, really, how could anyone miss Penelope Garcia in a crowd? It was like watching a vibrant salmon swim against the stream and all the other fish--he chuckled inwardly, as he watched her maneuver through the crowd of teenage elbows, and other assorted limbs, dancing her way over to him.

“Bonjour mon amour!” she sang out, wrapping her arms around his neck while standing on the tips of her toes.

“Well, hello to you too,” he laughed, moving his hands to the small of her back. Derek could feel her smiling into the embrace and gave her a small, assuring squeeze. “So, how’re the French treating my girl?”

“Wonderful, as per usual. But I suppose it helps when you can do the workbook in your sleep.” she offered back, pulling away from the hug.

“Mhmm, I expect nothing less from that beautiful brain of yours.”

“Oh, stop…” she trailed off, swatting at his arm and putting on a show of fake embarrassment. There were a plethora of things that could be used to describe his best friend, but _shy_ has definitely never been one of them. She knew her worth and what she brought to the table. She always has, Derek noted.

“Okay, okay, if you insist,” he laughed, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, resting along the top of her backpack, “so, which way did you wanna walk today?”

She made a show of pondering her options. Scrunching her nose and tapping her index finger against her chin in an overly comical manner, she let out a loud, “Hmmm…”

“Alright, girl, you know I love you but if you don’t make up your mind in the next three seconds, _I’ll_ pick. ‘N then I’mma throw you over my shoulder and drag you outta here.”

“Ouch,” she faux-winced, “while you know I’m always up for being manhandled by you, sug, I think I’m gonna opt for walking… walk me through the east park?”

“Anything for you, silly girl.”

As they walked, eventually their steps fell in sync with each other’s, going unnoticed by the both of them. They ended up mirroring each other a lot, like two sides of the same coin. Penelope being heads, of course; she was the optimistic one, the one hopeful people place their faith in when it came to a coin toss.

And by extension, Derek was tails; he was the last minute decision that always turned out okay, the side of the coin that determined people insisted it would land on. But that’s why they fit so well together, he figured.

She continued to walk in step with him, talking animatedly and moving her hands in giant sweeping motions as she did. He kept pace, laughing at how she managed to make the most mundane news of her week some sort of glamorous, verbal exposé. 

Approaching a traffic intersection, he went to reach for the crosswalk button, before stopping abruptly in his tracks. 

“You know it helps if you actually press the button, right?” she teased, leaning over him to press the signal, and after a delayed moment of silence, worry started clouding her expression, “Derek?”

Her ever-present frown was enough to pull him out of his trance. Turning to kiss her on the forehead, he muttered a soft, “I’m good. Sorry.” 

“Are you sure?” she asked, trying not to pout at the weird exchange. To be fair, it was an unusual occurrence for him.

“Yep. Green light though, we better hurry,” he winked, before taking a large push off the curb and jogging into the crosswalk.

“Hey, that’s cheating!” she shouted, speed-walking to catch up with him.

He laughed devilishly, “Not my fault you can’t keep up, babygirl.”

“Not all of us are football players, you know! One step for you is like three…” she trailed off, finally catching sight of what had set him off a minute ago.

At the opposite end of the light stood Aaron Hotchner, or Hotch as they knew him, Derek’s old best friend. He had been crossing in the opposite direction of them, walking hand-in-hand with his girlfriend. 

Penelope was unsure of the specifics but she knew things ended poorly between them. All he really told her was that he and Hotch had gotten into it over fall break of his freshman year.

“Was seeing Hotch why you got all weird back there?” she finally asked, after a minute of walking. 

“He’s really not worth wasting my breath over” was the only answer Derek offered back, tracing shapes along the inside of his backpack straps with his index fingers: a nervous tick he’d developed, especially whenever people made him feel vulnerable. At least they were close to her house now--if she were to keep pushing, he’d only have to endure an interrogation for two more blocks. 

Stopping him in his tracks, she took a second to rub her hands along his shoulder, turning to face him in full. He felt as her eyes looked deeply to his and averted her gaze. He could feel what was coming next.

“I know, I know, and I never want to upset you… but, he _is_ a senior this year,” she replied, eliciting a sigh from him, “c’mon, you may never see him again! Don’t you want to make amends?”

Letting go of a long breath he started to hold, he took both of her hands in his, looking her in the eye, “Listen, you know I love and respect you more than anyone else in this world, but Penelope, please just drop this.”

He watched as her face twisted with discontent--he almost never called her Penelope, it sounded almost foreign coming from him. 

She nodded at him, wrapping her arms around him in yet another hug, before letting out a whisper, “Okay.”

“Okay,” he echoed back, feeling his worry start to ease.

They continued on, spending the last two blocks in an uncharacteristic silence. Trekking up the walkway to the front door of the Garcia household, Derek made a grab for Penelope’s sleeve.

“Babygirl, you know I’m not mad at you, right?”

He watched as a smile floated across her face. “Well, duh. It’s pretty hard to be mad at perfection, like moi,” she replied, curtsying at the last word.

A laugh bellowed through him and he took one of her hands in his yet again. “Thank you for being my best friend.”

“Likewise,” she smiled, as he planted a peck on the back of her left hand. She was right about one thing, he realized, watching her slip in through the front door. It was damn near impossible to be mad at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you enjoyed this and/or are looking forward to more, then you not only have me but also my gf to thank! she's been helping me w some ideas and mostly just kicking me in the ass to keep writing. i promise i won't leave this unfinished forever, there's just this downside that comes w writing fics... you.. have to actually... write it. 
> 
> anyway, tysm for any support you may give this diamond in the rough and feel free to follow me over on tumblr @futurecadaver


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